Chris2112

He certainly demonstrates how close you can get the strings to the ramp. Gary Willis really takes advantage of this when he plays in his cramped Ibanez. His action is so low as to produce the effect of producing a note by stroking the string rather than plucking it. I noticed that the guy in the video is having some intonation issues and also suffers from the strings cracking against the ramp or the board when he plays hard. So before fitting one of these, care needs to be taken to ensure that it's the right thing for you. Some players also use 'ramps' for slap too, in the form of a plate of material fitted between the neck pickup and the neck. This is the ensure that your fingers don't dig in too deeply when popping. Stuart Hamm had a scratch plate on one of his Kubicki basses in the early 90's, ostensibly for this purpose, though it wasn't something that I ever saw him re-use or mention again in future. Stuart Clayton had a clear bit of perspex on his Bogart Blackstone for the same thing. I own that bass now, the perspex was long gone before it came to me.

Whatever the case, they have really supercharged their social media presence since Marcus got on board. I see YouTube videos and Facebook posts every day. They're really rising from obscurity to bring the Enfield brand to the fore.

Realistically speaking, I think I'd go for a passive, four string bass with Bartolini humbuckers, a Babicz bridge and an ebony fretboard. In the world of dreams, I would have a Spector with a Modulus thru neck (basically quilted maple wings joined to the exposed graphite cricket bat, like an old Status Series II). It would be passive, with Bartolini soapbars or J singlecoils, and gold hardware. That would be my lottery win commission.

I saw this advertised on Facebook and thought it a good idea, though the entry fee is maybe a little steep (I see performance cars getting flogged in Facebook lotteries for £20 a ticket all the time, with more tickets sold but less customer outlay). I didn't realise it was actually illegal. The regulations around gambling are rather strict.

I essentially sought to recreate Jeff Berlin's wonderful tone when I came back to playing. So I sought out a Cort Rithimic and bought a Markbass CMD151P Jeff Berlin combo. I later acquired a Peavey Palaedium, which which Jeff's signature Peavey bass in the 90's. I will never part with either instrument. Despite sharing the same basic configuration, they both have their own distinct quality and play brilliantly. Ultimately, I think that every player has their own sound and style, and I have never found a signature bass to infringe upon that. A large part of the equation for me was buying the right gear to secure the tone I wanted, and then using that for my own ends.

They are all great writers although Sheehan is the only one in a supergroup. I'd much rather listen to them than any of the other names you've listed (and I wouldn't listen to any Pete Townsend out of principle in the same way that I wouldn't watch a Jimmy Savile TV show). I am not a huge fan of the Winery Dogs because they are focused on 'straight up' rock. Kotzen, Sheehan and Portnoy are all amazing players, I just wish they had went for a fusion or shred sound. 'Niacin' shows Sheehan in a fusion setting, and is a better band IMO. I am not surprised to see Animal Logic turn up here. They have some great songs and some absolute horrors. The issue there was that Deborah Holland was the main writer, indeed, I believe she had prepared most of the material on her own and brought it to the guys to arrange. At their best, they produced some wonderfully played, intelligent pop music. At their worst, they made some right cheese. So that at least, conforms to Stan's track record of mixing moments of brilliance with some real rubbish.

They are all great writers although Sheehan is the only one in a supergroup. I'd much rather listen to them than any of the other names you've listed (and I wouldn't listen to any Pete Townsend out of principle in the same way that I wouldn't watch a Jimmy Savile TV show). I am not a huge fan of the Winery Dogs because they are focused on 'straight up' rock. Kotzen, Sheehan and Portnoy are all amazing players, I just wish they had went for a fusion or shred sound. 'Niacin' shows Sheehan in a fusion setting, and is a better band IMO. I am not surprised to see Animal Logic turn up here. They have some great songs and some absolute horrors. The issue there was that Deborah Holland was the main writer, indeed, I believe she had prepared most of the material on her own and brought it to the guys to arrange. At their best, they produced some wonderfully played, intelligent pop music. At their worst, they made some right cheese. So that at least, conforms to Stan's track record of mixing moments of brilliance with some real rubbish.

I started when I had just turned 13. I didn't really know any bassists at that point but I was mad about Slipknot and wanted to play music myself. Around 2013 or 2014, I took a couple of years off playing bass and played guitar. For whatever reason, I was burned out on bass. A sudden rediscovery of Jeff Berlin's music and teaching inspired me to pick the bass back up and I have never been so in love with it as I have for the past three years.

That has cleaned up very nicely indeed. I love this colour on the TRB.

Indeed. Talkbass has taken the sensible step of banning any threads praising counterfeit basses since they don't want the threat of being sued hanging over them like a primed gun. Basschat could be liable to severe action just for hosting this thread.

It is an amazing bass. I was lucky enough to spot the 'for sale' thread early and send it on to my brother because I knew it was going to go quickly and it did.

Get paid beforehand, the lights could go off at any moment.

I handed a CV in at 16 to Asda, where a friend of mine worked in the warehouse, because he reckoned it was easy money. I was working evenings in a hotel and wanted a few more hours. Asda sent me a letter saying that they weren't hiring and stating that they'd put my CV on file and contact me if any jobs came up. Fourteen years later, I'm still waiting for their call. I have all but given up hope.

That fretless is stunning. It deserves a closeup!

Thanks for taking the time to read this guys. It's a shame that the clinic couldn't reach a wider audience, though the room was probably not far off capacity for those who could have comfortably viewed the it. I first saw it on the GuitarGuitar Facebook page, and by the time I'd booked my tickets it was listed on the Jeff Berlin Bass Education page. It was GuitarGuitar Glawgow's first bass clinic and there were a few teething issues, though I know they've done guitar clinics before. No chairs, no backing CD player, nor a manual metronome to hand. In spite of this, we all had a great time. I could have stood for the whole show on one leg for all I cared, I was just thrilled to be there.

I wasn't wild about the song. The drumming was a bit OTT but it was clearly done that way to make it stand out and hook people in.

Evening all, Last night, I fulfilled a long held musical goal of mine; namely, I attended a clinic held by Jeff Berlin at GuitarGuitar Glasgow. It was something of a drive to get there from Northumberland, being a 300 mile round trip and faced with torrential rain on the way back, but I would do it all again. I hope that I can collect my thoughts here to advise my fellow bassists on why I found this clinic so enjoyable and informative. First, a small precis in which I will explain how I ended up here. I have played bass since I was 13 years old, though when I was about 24 I hit a short slump and picked up a guitar. I never enjoyed myself like I did on a bass and I felt the urge to go back to playing bass. I had always loved the music and playing of Jeff Berlin and I knew he was a respected teacher, but I knew little of what he taught and advocated. I felt like I needed to really change the way I looked at my own playing and what I could do to improve and I ended up seeking out information on the way that Jeff taught. I felt like my playing had hit a plateau for years ago, and despite transcribing ever-more difficult pieces, I felt like I wasn't getting any better or worse as a player. At the age of 27, I picked up the bass again and began to follow what Jeff would refer to as 'music only' education. Following that, I took strides forward in my playing and improved at a rate that I hadn't done since I was a teenager. It was both a musical liberation and rebirth for me. In time, I came to chat with Jeff online and I took part in his reading course and the conference Q&A sessions that were held for the first to buy into that course (which taught me to read music, perhaps my biggest musical failing). Jeff became a friend and I knew that, if he ever did come to the United Kingdom, I would go and see his clinic or show come hell or high water. So, enough about my own journey to this point. I went to that clinic knowing what to expect, though what I want to do is put you in the shoes of one of the forty of fifty people there who perhaps didn't know exactly what they would hear. Entry to the event was ticketed, but free, and was sponsored by Cort guitars. Jeff was funny and warm, breaking the ice and putting everyone at ease. I could feel the room relax as he started talking and he was the perfect host. Although the venue surprisingly did not have any chairs to hand, we were all happy to remain standing and we did so, utterly captivated for around 90 minutes. Jeff kicked us off with a solo piece, asking the audience to name four notes. He then proceeded to improvise a beautiful piece based on that four note progression and he would refer to that four note phrase on a number of times when he played. When he clicked that chorus pedal on, I could not help but grin. The tone and the playing was sublime. I felt as though magic was happening in front of me. Further on through the clinic, Jeff played 'Runaway Train' from his 2000 album 'In Harmony's Way'. He later treated us to an improvisation on a theme from Beethoven's 9th, which had me floored. However, Jeff did not make his playing the focus of the event. Instead, he invited members of the audience to take a seat next to him and would ask them to play something. What followed was straightforward, honest advice that measurably improved the playing of everyone who came up. As Jeff advised and corrected each player, he would ask us in the audience if we could hear an improvement in the music being played and we all replied positively. I appreciate that it must be nerve wracking to sit in that chair in front of your peers to be critiqued by one of the luminaries of our instrument. Like I said, Jeff is so warm and friendly, so adept at putting the student at ease, that every player quickly settled down and started to improve. In focusing his attention on that player in that moment, Jeff demonstrated the sound academic principles he has so long advocated and how they can reap reward for anyone who follows them. As the members of the audience continued to come up, Jeff held two demonstrations that were paticularly impactful and really had the room engrossed. He invited a lady up from the audience who was not a musician and had her take the Cort Rithimic bass provided for the guests. Jeff had her play an E in straight quarter notes, demonstrating that everyone has a sense of time adequate to become a musician. Jeff improvised a piece over her bass line and there and then, not only did she become a musician but she was backing Jeff Berlin in a clinic to a room full of people! The highlight of the educational side of the clinic for me was when Jeff called up a guy who been playing for 25 years but didn't read music. Jeff called for someone to grab a load of sheet music from his gigbag. It was in fact, package 1 of his five part reading course (he did not mention this in attempt to make a sale but I think he could have done so, as it is a great course). Jeff then asked his guest to identify the notes on the page, if he could, and as they worked them ou together, the guest played two bars of his first etude read from the page. As per a show of hands earlier in the clinic, there were a lot of non-readers and rockers in there. I looked around the room and there were smiles all around me as this guy played slowly, out of time, as he read each note. Every mistake was addressed and corrected and the guest had just read his first music, in front of a crowd of strangers. I am not lying when I say that the room was on tenterhooks between every note and you could have heard a pin drop. The round of applause that followed was utterly heartfelt. I left that clinic feeling better about myself as a player, inspired to continue reading, inspired to continue trying to improve. I am sure everyone there felt that same inspiration as me. This really was a clinic for everyone, as there was no barrier to entry. It wasn't just for academic musicians, jazz or fusion players. There was something for everyone; advice that transcends your level of playing and cuts to core of what is at the foundation of being a good musician. Therefore, I would recommend players of all genres, of all levels of skill and experience, to seek out these clinics where they can. Following the event, my brother and I said hello to Jeff. He recognised me from the chats we had had online and asked me why I hadn't introduced myself sooner. He signed the back of my Cort Rithimic bass and we took some photos. I will post these below. I am holding my Rithimic and my brother is holding his 1991 Ken Smith BT5. My brother is also a big fan of Jeff Berlin and a huge fan and supporter of great music in general, so it was really cool to go on this trip with him. I would like to thank Jeff for putting on a really great clinic and for being a gracious host, Cort guitars for sponsoring this clinic tour and to GuitarGuitar Glasgow for giving us an excellent venue. [

I usually use stainless steel on active basses and nickel on passive basses. What I have found in all my years of using stainless steel strings that those Dunlop Super Brights were the harshest sounding strings I've ever tried fresh out of the packet, but they soon mellowed to a nice crisp tone that actually lasted very well.

Those Modulus Flea basses really are something else. Taking the a reasonable Stingray as a foundation and then taking that recipe to the next level by refining every aspect of the design. I have never been a huge fan of Flea but I was of the opinion at the time when Flea was using these that they sounded far better than anything he had played previously. The still hold up as his best tone for me. I'm pleased you got your hands on something you've wanted for so long. If you ever have an off day with it, just remember the longing and desire to preceded it's arrival.

Just before the five minute mark you can really hear the tone of this thing. Much like the previous hollowbody bass, it really doesn't sound great to my ears. That's no slight on John, as he sounded great using both Ken Smith and his Yamaha TRB basses. But these hollowbodies have a tone like rubber bands over a margarine tub.